Star-Crossed
by InnocentBlossom
Summary: Sometimes luck just never seems to go your way. For seventeen-year-old, rich, home-schooled girl from Suna, Temari Subaku, bad luck just always seems to come with a new school, and a lazy-ass pineapple head. Well... It just seems that way, for now. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE!
1. Prologue: Full Summary

FULL SUMMARY:

Rich, home-schooled girl from Suna, Temari Subaku, enters Konoha High in the hopes of finally living a normal life without the constant guard of her father. Lazy-ass Shikamaru Nara; a guy trying his hardest to keep his 'house-of-cards' family from falling apart before him.

But when worse comes to worse, and fate takes one of its wildest turns, sometimes you just have to go with it and go out of your way for the things that are definitely worth the trouble.

And yeah, that would be all fine and dandy, if bad luck didn't always seem to be just around the corner...


	2. Chapter 1: Troublesome

**A/N- Hey guys!**

**Here I am with my second fanfic! The idea for this story has been tugging at me for quite a while now. And it's actually kept me up quite a few nights, plotting. So I finally decided to write it down.**

**And yes it's ShikaTema 'cause I find that they really do fit well together :)**

**So anyway, I hope you guys really enjoy this fic!**

**And please do leave a review! Even if it's just one word, I really want to know your opinions on this story!**

**Oh and Sakura-chan (PsyMama17), I'm really sorry for starting a new fanfic while 'Pain' is still going on! I'll try my best to update both these stories! Multi-tasking to the rescue! Anyway, as an apology, I'm dedicating this chapter to you! :3**

**So anyway, I'll just do the disclaimer.**

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.**

**(If I did, there would totally be a whole lot more ShikaTema moments in the manga! Ah, a girl can always dream, right?!)**

**Enjoy! ^_^**

* * *

There were... A few, things that annoyed seventeen-year-old Temari Subaku about her father.

His overly strict and demanding demeanor that was apparently called 'protectiveness' - though it didn't really seem like he was trying to protect her, at times. If there was something that could be risky for the family business then, it would probably be more correct to say that he was protective over the business, rather than Temari, herself.

But perhaps she was just a little paranoid.

Oh, that was another thing. Temari's fear of sharing the same gene pool as her father was proven correct when she realized that she had inherited his irritable habit of paranoia. Like the way he immediately gets the idea that another party is planning to overrun his business, whenever someone randomly asks about how it is coming along. Or how he starts to immediately suspect someone is planning to 'steal' customers away from his business whenever a new shop opens up nearby.

Yeah.

If Temari had to describe her father in one word, he would definitely be the personification of 'business'.

Oh, and don't forget 'strict'. And 'old-fashioned'. Oh, and 'selfish', at times. Hmm... Let's see...

'Rude'.

'Nonchalant'.

'Greedy'.

'Overly-protective'.

And-

So much for _one word_.

Temari's father hadn't always been that way however. Up until her mother passed away, he was quite a pleasant man, actually. Though after she had died, he had become much colder to everyone else. Occupying himself with his rich and successful business in the accounting industry.

And yes, Temari would be able to live with that. Heck, she would be more than ecstatic to live with just that.

But no, due to her father's remarkable paranoia and jealousy, Temari and her two younger brothers, Kankuro and Gaara, were locked away from the outside world. Though her siblings never questioned the reason for being held 'captive', as Temari saw it, Temari did.

_"Because the outsiders will use your naivety to sabotage the family business." _Was her father's reply.

Never let outside often, the three children were home schooled, as a result. But hey, bad luck doesn't always last, right?

Temari exhaled deeply as she gave her reflection in the mirror a last once-over glance. Then, a grin adorned her delicate features as she tugged at the presses on her new school uniform. That's right, it only took seventeen years but Temari was finally able to convince her father into letting her enter in an actual school.

_'Konoha High'..._

It sounded so... Mysterious? Nah. Weird? Hmm, not that either. Mundane?

'Ugh, forget it,' Temari mentally chided herself.

Nodding once in approval, the newly instated highschooler tightened the hold on her four separated ponytails that consisted of the same spiky, sandy blonde hair as her mother.

"Time to go," Temari murmured to herself.

* * *

Konoha High was a good two times larger than what Temari had imagined it would be. Heck, the school could very well possibly rival a mansion. Fancy olden-day-like windows stood tall on numerous brick walls. Some even had brightly colored curtains draped across them.

Yes, fancy indeed.

As Temari continued to gape at the school in awe, she momentarily forgot about her feelings of mortification.

Yes, mortification.

The fact that her father had been preparing the private family jet for Temari to be transported to school in, was a... Little... Too much for her. So, her father, for her 'benefit' apparently, decided to allow her to take the family's private limousine instead!

Because that solution was a whole lot different to the previous one, right?!

Yeah, but that wasn't all. When Temari found out that Yashamaru, the family's servant and butler, was to drive her to and from school _e-v-e-r-y_ single day, she just wanted to curl up in a ball and die.

And Temari had been hoping not to be noticed by anyone.

Ha, so much for that idea.

So, as Temari glanced around her atmosphere, catching all of the surprised facial expressions. And all of the wistful glances. And even some jealous faces glaring daggers into her body. Temari almost sweat dropped. Wishing everyone would just stop staring and go away, the sandy blonde cursed lightly under her breath, as she walked down the concrete walkway towards the main building. Still feeling gazes on her, Temari could swear she heard a group of girls gossip to themselves about her. Call her paranoid, but the blonde turned to glare at the group anyway. As the group shrunk under Temari's silent scrutiny, the sandy blonde turned her heel and continued on her way.

* * *

The school's general office was... Interesting. When Temari had first walked into the building, seeing the ridiculously large amounts of grey painted walls, made her head start to groan from all the lackluster in the room.

However, once the principal, a slightly gaudy woman with two low platinum blonde pigtails, arrived and ushered Temari into her office, the room didn't seem so boring to her anymore.

Colours and shades of the most random and extravagant kind, were splashed around on the walls of the principal's (whose name Temari discovered to be Tsunade) office. It made the sandy blonde wonder whether the design had been done on purpose, or whether the painters had just gotten lazy.

The woman cleared her throat as she looked Temari straight in the eye. "Temari Subaku, correct?"

"Yeah," Temari responded, a little too flatly in her opinion.

The woman smiled in greeting. "I'm the school's principal, Tsunade."

"Yeah, I know."

The blonde woman raised an eyebrow and Temari mentally slapped herself for sounding so curt and ignorant. Then, she motioned to the name tag on the woman's white shirt. Realizing this too, Tsunade snorted as she broke out into a mini laughing fit. Temari had to bite down the incredulous expression that she could feel creeping up onto her face. Instead, she just opted to feel relieved that the principal wasn't too perturbed by her rudeness.

"Oh, excuse me, sorry! I am so forgetful at times!" The woman chortled. Temari, however, continued to mentally scold herself to get the 'Are-You-Crazy?!' look off her face.

Then, suddenly catching a glimpse of a tiny glint in the corner of the room, Temari moved her gaze there.

'Well that explains it,' She thought, as she mentally face palmed.

In the corner of the principal's office was an impressive stacked collection of empty, half-filled and un-opened bottles of sake. Temari could feel her nose slowly crinkling in disgust.

Alcoholic.

"Anyway!-" The woman giggled, and the sandy blonde resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her principal's obscene work ethic. "-Anyway!" She repeated. "I would like you to meet someone..." As her voice drifted off, Tsunade turned to the closed door, and called, "Come in, Shiho!" A little louder than necessary, an obvious sign of the side effects of the woman's alcohol consumption.

A girl that looked about Temari's age, hurried into the office. She had light blonde hair that cascaded down her back in a very loose ponytail. And some shorter pieces of her hair stuck out tragically on the top of her head. It was hard to see the girl's eyes due to her unusually designed glasses, which were circularly rimmed and had a swirl-tint in them.

"Hello! You're Temari, right? I'm Shiho, and I'll be your guide in showing you around the school and showing you to your classes, just until you get the hang of things! I heard you were home schooled up until now, so you're probably really, really nervous about starting at an actual school. Don't worry! Starting at a high school is nerve-racking for everyone so don't feel like you have to fit in straight away, okay?"

Temari almost sweat dropped at her guide's overly perkiness. She had barely even comprehended the first few things Shiho had said. And don't even get her started on the rest of her long welcome speech.

To be honest, Temari didn't feel nervous in the slightest. Beforehand, she had already set herself a few rules; Stay out of everybody's way, Don't attract attention to yourself, Try not to get noticed. Sadly enough, those rules had already been broken after her 'grand' entrance into the school.

But Temari figured that saying that she wasn't nervous would make her come across as cocky and arrogant. So she decided to take the safe route and mumbled an awkwardly stretched out, "Yeah."

"Okey-Dokey, then! We better get going! There is just so much to see! So much to do! See you later, Lady Tsunade!" Shiho called as she grabbed the sandy blonde's hand and rushed out of the general office, dragging Temari with her. Temari sweat dropped at the girl's obliviousness to her uncomfortableness.

* * *

As the two girls ran out of the building, the sandy blonde could still hear Tsunade's cackles echoing out through the hallways. Shivering, she asked Shiho, "Umm, where are we going?"

"To the locker bay of course! We need to get your things in order first before we do anything!"

The locker bay was basically made up of three colours; red, blue and yellow. Shiho skipped over to a yellow locker that had a lock hanging out of it.

"This is your locker, Temari," Shiho said in her usual upbeat tone. "You just put your bag and things inside and before each lesson you take out the books you need for your classes."

"Yeah, okay." For umpteenth time that day, Temari mentally slapped herself for being so blunt.

Shiho, however, was unfazed as she pointed to a red locker on the other side of the room. "That locker's mine. If you ever need any help you can always come and ask me there. Oh, and I'm sure your fellow locker buddies will help you out too!"

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Locker... Buddies...?" She said slowly.

"The students who have their lockers near yours," Shiho clarified. Temari nodded, accepting this. "Anyway! Quickly put your bag inside your locker! We need to get going!"

Roughly ramming her bag into the yellow colored locker, Temari turned to Shiho, only to be dragged off into the distance once again.

"This is crazy," She muttered to herself incoherently.

* * *

"-And this is the basketball court!" Shiho exclaimed extravagantly as Temari trailed behind her tiredly.

After, groaning loudly, multiple times, at every single stop, you'd think she'd get the hint that Temari had seen enough.

"Okay! Well that's all, for now!"

Temari perked up at that. "Really?" She gasped, not believing her luck.

"Yup!" Shiho nodded, as she grabbed the sandy blonde's hand once again. "Now all we have to do is introduce you to our class!"

Temari's jaw dropped down low. 'No... Not the introductions...' She balked at her dreaded fate. Temari had read about these in books. Where the new student has to stand up at the front of the class, and tell everyone about themselves. And everybody watches them with exaggerated stares of boredom and an unusual array of scrunched up facial expressions.

Temari wanted to just melt into the ground.

When Shiho knocked on the door of a room that was clearly filled with students - hence the chatter radiating off the room - Temari tried her best to hide behind Shiho. Although, the fact that Temari was a good inch or so, taller than the girl, was not helping matters with her attempt at hiding herself.

As Shiho opened the door, Temari found herself contemplating how to kill herself now.

"Oh, you must be our new student," A man with silver hair and a face mask smiled at Temari cheerfully. The sandy blonde bit her tongue to prevent herself from swearing at the man to stop talking so loudly.

"Yes, she is, Kakashi-sensei!" Shiho cheered in her typical shrill voice.

Feeling everybody's eyes on her, Temari looked around the room awkwardly.

"Please introduce yourself," The man, dubbed 'Kakashi' told her. Temari almost glared at him.

"I'm Temari Subaku," She muttered, slightly indignantly.

"Tell everyone a little about yourself, Temari," Kakashi smiled.

'Damn... This is just like the books,' Temari cursed in her head.

"Uhmm..." She began awkwardly. "I'm from Sunagakure. And up until now, I was home schooled," Temari said quickly, not wanting to be in the spotlight any longer.

"Okay. You may sit next to Shiho over there." The man motioned to the empty desk beside Temari's guide. Thanking Kakashi inwardly for letting her go, Temari took her seat.

Hearing whispers coming from behind her, Temari, not standing for anymore attention, put on one of her scariest glares as she turned to face the two prissy-looking girls sitting behind her. The girls silenced themselves immediately and looked away. Temari rolled her eyes in return.

"What class is this, Shiho?" Temari whispered to her guide.

"Math," She answered, smiling when the sandy blonde groaned at the fact that her first class at Konoha High was in fact her worst subject area.

"-So if Pi equals 3.14, how would you solve the volume of this sphere, if-"

Temari's mind began to drift off and away from Kakashi's lesson.

_...Snore..._

_...Snoreeee..._

_...Snoreeeeeee..._

Temari's eyes flashed as she looked around the room in search of the irritable sleeping noise. Looking over to see if it was Shiho, Temari turned her head, only to see the girl animatedly taking notes. Then, turning to the other side of her, Temari spotted a boy, a few tables away, hunched over his desk, apparently in 'snooze-mode'. Temari almost snorted as she nudged Shiho to get her attention. Pointing her index finger at the sleeping boy, whose dark hair had been pulled up in a spiky ponytail - making him look suspiciously like a pineapple, might she add - Temari questioned bluntly, "Are we really allowed to sleep in class?!"

Shiho, catching a glimpse of the boy, immediately blushed a deep red. Quickly shaking her head she went back to her work, as if she was trying to hide her 'getting-redder-by-the-second' face. Temari raised a perfectly arched eyebrow in question at her actions, expecting an explanation but not receiving one.

* * *

The bell went off, signaling that it was Lunch time. By this time, Temari was starting to get a grip on how things worked around here. You go to your locker before class, then get the specific books required, and then you just leave. Simple.

Well... Sort of...

Temari huffed for the umpteenth time. She cursed at her stubborn lock that just wouldn't open. Her eyes scanning around the locker bay, Temari hoped that Shiho would be around by some chance. But sadly, she wasn't. Temari groaned inwardly.

_'Oh, and I'm sure your fellow locker buddies will help you out too!'_

Temari's eyes flashed as she looked around to see if there could be anyone to help her. Although the sandy blonde didn't typically like asking others for help, this was an exception. She turned to the student on her right, who was apparently reorganizing his locker.

"Hey! Uhmm... You're that guy who sleeps in all our classes right?"

The words came out of her mouth before Temari could stop them. The tall boy with the spiky ponytail raised an eyebrow in answer, but did not appear to be too offended by the comment.

"Uhmm... My lock won't open. So, uhh, can you, um, help me out?"

'See? That wasn't that hard now was it?' Temari praised herself inwardly when the boy asked to see her locker combination.

Though, her paranoia of thinking that this guy may use her locker combination to steal her things or something like that, Temari squelched down that thought as soon as it popped up.

"You have to turn the lock. First to the right. Then to the left. And then to the right again," He told her lazily. Then, he pointed to the back of the sheet on which Temari's locker combo was written. "It says it right here."

Temari flushed and mentally face palmed for being so stupid.

"Thanks," She muttered, clearly embarrassed at herself.

The boy smirked in a slightly condescending way. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

Temari's cerulean eyes flashed against her pale skin. "Then you better get your hearing checked," She hissed, clearly embarrassed as she stuffed her books inside her locker.

Slamming the locker shut, Temari, not sparing the boy even one last glance, stormed off in her anger and mortification.

As the boy himself, began to put his books back into his own locker, he looked back at the figure that was now fading out of sight.

"Troublesome."

* * *

_~ 'For some reason, I got some kind of strange amusement when she turned red like that... Would that make me come across as sadistic...?'_

* * *

**A/N- So how was it?**

**Good? Bad? Amazing? Sucky? Alright?**

**Please let me know!**

**Oh, and for those who don't remember who Shiho is... She's the girl in the Code Breaking unit thingy. You know, the girl who has a crush on Shikamaru? Yeah.**

**Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter up asap. But please do review! Your reviews are what motivates me to write more so please leave me your thoughts!**

**Anyhoo, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

**And I'll see you guys soon!**

**~ InnocentBlossom Xx**


	3. Chapter 2: Pineapple Head

**A/N- Hey guys!**

**I'm back with chapter 2! :D**

**After** **this**** chapter, we'll probably get to see more into Shikamaru's life. Oh! This is so much fun to write! ^_^**

**And I'm SO happy that people enjoyed it!**

**So, thank you a HEAP to: , Ransor, 10ShizukaYuukiMistress10, Insanity-Fun, jashinisgod, nara-love, EnviousLostAngel, CottonCandyMonster, redsilver71 for Reviewing/ Following/ Favoriting. You guys have no idea how much it means to me! :D**

**This chapter, I dedicate to you guys. :3**

**And to my very close friend, Hyperwolfpup. It's so nice and fun to be able to work with such an amazing writer as you! ^_^**

**Anyway, please keep reviewing! I have so many ideas for this story! So many ideas for this pairing! God, there should be so much more ShikaTema in this world! They're just too awesome :3**

**Anyhoo, here's the disclaimer.**

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.**

**(Like I said, there would be so much more ShikaTema if I did! ^_^)**

* * *

"Temari! There you are! Where have you been? I was looking all over the place for you!" Shiho exclaimed, waving her hands around exuberantly.

Temari simply huffed in response.

"Uh, Temari, are you alright? You look a little..." Shiho's voice drifted off awkwardly, as she tried to figure out how to word what she wanted to say without sounding... Rude... "You look a little, um... Angry."

"Oh, no! I'm fine, Shiho! I just had a rather unpleasant encounter with a wild bull dog," Temari explained conversationally. Then, to further her point, the sandy blonde attempted a grin, but due to the grinding of her clenched teeth, Temari looked more like a hyena that was giving birth to a cockatoo... Well, that was Shiho's observation, anyway.

"Yikes," She shivered. Then, her original composure returning, she grabbed the sandy blonde by the arm once again. "Oh, anyway, enough with the theatrics! I want you to meet some people!"

Temari was once again dragged away - against her will, might she add - by the spectacled vixen.

Then, coming to the sudden realization that Shiho was leading her to quite a large group, probably wanting for her to make friends, Temari immediately balked inwardly at what was to come.

"Hey guys!" Shiho called cheerfully.

"Hey Shiho," A guy who was quite... Temari didn't know how to put it... Chubby... Answered back with a simple wave.

"Yo, Shiho! Who's the newbie?" A hyperactive looking blonde boy, asked a little too loudly, considering the fact that they were a little less than a meter apart. Temari winced, slightly, hoping that her eardrum hadn't burst.

"Dude, who cares! She's smokin' hot," A tall boy with a shag of spiky brown hair smirked at Temari smugly, while eyeing her chest area. The latter, however, glared at him due to the lack of tact in his pathetic effort at 'flirting'.

"Kiba," Shiho hissed, effectively silencing the brown-haired boy. Then, a smile taking over her features, Shiho introduced, "Guys, this is Temari. Temari, this is-"

"Kiba! And it's a _pleasure_ to meet you, mademoiselle," The brunette haired male interrupted once again and Temari could only snort with incredulity at how dense men could be to rejection.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" The blonde haired boy gave a foxy grin, while Temari winced once again, concerned about the health and wellbeing of her ear drums.

"Hi! I'm Tenten!" A girl with two brunette buns in her hair, greeted cheerfully.

"Sakura. Nice to meet you!" A bubblegum haired girl introduced.

Temari almost got bored of the whole 'introductions' thing. Considering it a bit of a mundane task of 'no exceptions', she breathed in deeply and tried her hardest to pay attention to everyone's bubbly greetings.

"I'm Choji," The "chubby" boy mumbled out, through the salty potato chips that he was rapidly stuffing into his mouth.

"Shino."

"Sasuke."

"Neji."

Temari sweat dropped at the boys' 'lengthy' introductions.

"H-Hello, I-I... M-My name i-is H-H-Hinata. It's n-nice t-to m-meet you," A pretty dark blue haired female, stuttered.

"I'm Ino!" A blonde girl waved.

"Hello! I am Rock Lee!" A boy wearing an unusual ball haircut, and sporting a green spandex suit that was clearly visible underneath his school uniform, struck a nice-guy pose. Temari, probably due to the boy's choice of clothing - or possibly because of his monstrously large eyebrows - unconsciously took a step away from the boy.

"And that's the lot of them- Wait! Shikamaru! Where's Shikamaru?" Shiho asked concernedly.

"Aww, someone a little worried about their crushy-wushy?" The girl named Ino, teased. Shiho turned a bright red and vigorously shook her head in denial.

"I haven't seen him today, actually," Choji added, spraying a few crumbs as he spoke.

"W-Well, Temari and I saw him in class today..." Shiho mumbled, trying to suppress her blush.

"Let me guess, was the lazy-ass snoozing again?" Naruto laughed. Shiho reddened even further as she nodded slowly.

Temari, who was trying to comprehend just who this missing person was, froze at the sound of two words; Lazy-ass and Snoozing. 'No... They couldn't be talking about-'

"Am I late, or something?" A voice drawled lazily from behind the group. Temari froze. She had figured she'd been humiliated enough for one day. At the sound of the locker-jerk's voice, Shiho turned even redder, if that was even possible. Temari once again found herself wondering why people did this. She had to have read it in a book or something. At least once. The sandy blonde knew that she usually turned red when she was really, really, _really_ angry, but Shiho didn't look all that angry in her opinion, so that couldn't be it.

"Oh, no, not at all Shikamaru. You're just like, halfway into lunch. Not late in the slightest," Ino reassured him sarcastically. The boy groaned in return. Temari tried to sneak away while she could, in case the jerk decided to tell everyone else about her sudden ditziness.

That was, until Shiho decided to speak up again. And Temari made a mental note to kill the girl later.

"Hey, Shikamaru, have you met our new student, yet?"

"Hmm?" The boy's droopy gaze shifted to the sandy blonde. His eyes flashed slightly, in recognition.

'Please say no. Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.' Temari chanted in her head, hoping that the more she repeated it, the more likely it would be to happen.

But alas, that was not the case.

"Hmm. Yeah. She has her locker next to mine."

Temari's eyes narrowed slightly when she realized that he didn't mention anything about her stupidity - as she saw it.

"Oh! That's great! I hope you helped her out with her things!" Shiho grinned and Temari's eyes widened at the word 'help'.

The ends of Shikamaru's lips tugged upwards slightly, in a smirk. But it was gone as soon as it came, and Temari found herself wondering whether it was just her paranoia getting on her nerves again.

"I sure did," He muttered.

Cocky bastard.

Temari glared at him in return, threatening him silently that if he dared to say one more word, she would have his neck by the end of the day. Shikamaru, however, possibly ignoring her, looked away in apparent oblivion.

The conversation between the group dragged on. A repetitive kind of deal. With the occasion of Naruto's loud outbursts, Kiba's perverted comments, and Sakura's yells at the two to "shut up". Sighing, Temari decided that during the next break, she would steer clear of the group and instead seek solitude for a while.

* * *

_Back and forth._

English to Science.

_Back and forth._

Science to Social Studies.

_Back and forth._

Social Studies to another break.

_Back and forth._

_Back and forth._

_Back and forth._

This was the everyday life of a regular high schooler? 'Geez, who knew it would be so mundane.' Temari groaned inwardly once again, as she collected her books and stood up.

The hallways of Konoha High, however, did not give the same impression of boredom that the rest of the school tended to give off. Splashes of the most random colors were painted on the walls. It could very well rival Tsunade's office room. And the French styled windows that Temari had taken an instant liking to, looked even more magnificent up close.

Running her porcelain fingers along the smooth texture of a couple of royal blue colored satin curtains, the sandy blonde stopped dead in her tracks, before immediately backing herself against a wall.

'Did he see me?'

* * *

Shikamaru yawned. Pushing his excessively large text books to the far end of his locker, he reached for his padlock.

Padlock.

The teenager's gaze shifted to the bright colored locker beside him.

'Hmm? The spunky one's not here...'

* * *

Temari exhaled deeply in relief.

'Good. I'm safe.'

She mentally threw a party as she watched her lazy locker 'buddy' stroll out of the locker bay, in his typical 'I-can't-be-bothered-to-carry-my-own-body' kind of fashion, if that was even possible. But hey, in Temari's eyes, he seemed like the kind of guy who no one else could imitate no matter how hard they tried. Like his hair, for example.

'No one could pull off something like that and still live with themselves,' She decided, cringing slightly.

The sandy blonde then turned her heel to her own locker, satisfied that the boy was quite out of range, as she tended to her lock. Being so preoccupied with her own thoughts, Temari once again made the same 'ditzy' mistake she had made before. Biting her lip, she flipped her head around, scanning the locker bay, then, she reassured herself that the lazy man had not been nearby, or else-

'We're not even going to go there,' Temari mentally cut herself off.

'Turn it right first. Then to the left. And then to the right again... Got it!'

The padlock opened and Temari grinned in victory, as she carried out the simple task of putting her books away. At this point, it was starting to seem that getting the locker open in the first place, was the more arduous task of the two.

* * *

Finding a quiet, isolated place, like Temari had hoped for, wasn't as easy of a task as she had thought it out to be.

Students everywhere!

And they obviously didn't seem to want to listen to the sandy blonde's silent pleas to stop staring as she walked aimlessly through the school grounds, because they just kept at it. They also seemed to misunderstand Temari's symbolic death threats, because when she glared at the offending beings, they simply glared back.

All of their heavy gazes made the new student feel like one of those fugitives. Like the ones she had seen on the very few episodes her father had let her watch, of CSI.

Cursing inwardly, Temari made her way through the thick-aired environment, to finally stumble upon what seemed too good to be true.

Fields.

And hills.

Temari was astonished to even think that a school could have such a luxurious area to call their own. And to yet have nobody use it? She had to be dreaming.

Inhaling the soft scent of lavender flowers and roses, Temari started her way up the nearest hill in range, awe clear on her face.

That look of awe was however, was soon replaced by one of confusion when she noticed a tall... Thing- in the distance.

'That's strange. From what I've read, it is kind of unusual for a single tree to be standing straight on the top of a hill... Right?'

The tree-figure stood tall right on the middle of the hill's surface. The spikes of its leaves branching out high.

Raising a perfectly arched eyebrow, Temari continued on her way nonetheless, only for her jaw to break down as she approached this 'tree'.

'You mean... The thing that I thought to be 'leaves' was... His hair?!' She mentally screeched. 'How could I have been so clueless?! I should've listened to the books! Always listen to the books! And why the hell did He have to have a damn pineapple head?! Why?!' Temari shook her head out of mental turmoil. 'Retreat, Temari! I repeat, RETREAT!'

Just as Shikamaru's head began to turn, Temari found herself in a squat position behind the hill. Panting as if she had just escaped certain death, she wondered if she had been seen.

After what seemed to be a minute, Temari slowly rendered her head around the hill.

"Hey, where'd he go?"

"You know..." A voice drawled from behind her, and the blonde girl froze. There wasn't even time for mortification. That would, of course, eventually come later. "If you wanted to stalk me, you might want to be more subtle the next time. Just a suggestion."

Ah, the mortification was beginning to set in.

Temari flushed as she turned around to face the man who looked down at her lazily. Amusement slightly twinkling in his narrow eyes.

She bit her tongue. "I-I... I'm not stalking anyone!" She stated defiantly.

The teenaged boy raised an eyebrow in retort.

"I'm not! You- You- Pineapple Head!" She hissed, wishing the boy would just disappear.

"Which is why you are trying to conceal yourself from my vision, and wondering where I went off to. Totally not something a stalker would do, right? Troublesome woman." The latter muttered, clearly wishing he were someplace better.

Temari could feel herself flush even deeper. Could this be the reason why Shiho also turned red whenever she was around the boy? It could very well be possible that he walked around humiliating everyone like this.

"Sh-Shut up."

"What? No comeback?" The boy asked, smirking slightly at the girl's embarrassment.

"Shut. Up." Temari gritted out.

Shikamaru felt his smirk widening slowly.

"Thought so."

Things were _not_ going well for a certain sandy blonde on her first day at school.

* * *

_~ 'I was NOT stalking him! He just happens to be at the exact place as I am. Ha! Look who's the stalker now, you stupid Pineapple Head!'_

* * *

**A/N- So there's chapter two for you guys! I really hope you guys liked it!**

**Like I said before, from now on, we'll start to get some more insight on Shikamaru's life so please do keep reading!**

**And anyway, please review! I really want to know your thoughts on this chapter because I worked really hard on it! So please leave me a review! Even if it's just one word, it will be appreciated!**

**Anyway, I'll be back soon with the next chapter!**

**See ya!**

**~ InnocentBlossom Xx**


	4. Chapter 3: Please don't leave so soon

**A/N- Hey guys! I'm back :D**

**How have you been?**

**First of all, I wanna apologize for not updating in AGES! School work has taken over I'm so sorry! **

**Life has been pretty hectic on my end. New school. New friends. Orientation camp. And now the END of term! It's such a drag...**

**Now I probably sound like Shikamaru -_-;**

**Anyway, in this chapter, NOTE: 'Mum' is the Australian way of spelling 'Mom'. I'm Australian so I'll just spell it that way. Just a heads up :P**

**Oh, and another thing. There's quite a bit of course language in this chapter, so yeah, just a warning :)**

**A huge thank you to: Hyperwolfpup, Guest, Sakura-chan :3 (PsyMama17), a01, Trepidation Chance, AND Anon for Reading/Reviewing/Following/Favoriting.**

**This chapter is dedicated to two people:**

**- Trepidation Chance: You are AWESOME! Haha I love every one of your stories! (Don't you DARE deny it mwuhahaha) Thank you for showering everyone with your awesomeness this year haha 3**

**- Anon: LOL where did that comment even come from?! But either way, it made me smile :)**

**Hope you start putting up some if your work soon 'cause I bet people would die to see it! ^_^**

**Anyways, now that that's out of the way! HOPE YOU ENJOY! And pretty, pretty please Favorite/Follow and REVIEW!**

* * *

_Stomp_

_Stomp_

"Oi! Watch where you're going!"

_Stomp_

"Mummy! That lady made me drop my ice cream!"

_Stomp_

_Stomp_

_Stomp_

BEEP!

"Hey! When you see a stop sign, you're meant to STOP!"

"Kids these days!"

_Stomp_

_Stomp_

_Stomp_

_Stomp_

Temari huffed.

She hadn't even paid attention to all the insults being thrown at her as she stormed through the streets on her way home. Despite being fully aware that having not come home in her family's private limousine, would get her in a deep load of trouble by her father, as well as a possible death sentence, Temari just needed to clear her thoughts and calm herself down.

Well... Actually just take her anger and embarrassment out on something else. Like that ice cream cone of that little boy's, that Temari had made fall and splat on the gravelly ground.

Yeah.

The sandy blonde grunted once again.

"Who does he think he is?! Humiliating me like that! On my very first day?! The nerve! Oh, the nerve! That pineapple of a head... And head of a pineapple... And... And... Pineapple of a person... And person of a pineapple!"

_'That doesn't even make any sense...?'_

"Who the hell cares if it doesn't make sense?!" Temari shouted, answering her own thoughts.

_'You just answered your own thoughts... Out loud... Weird...'_

"Who are you calling weird, PUNK?!"

_'Technically, you... Which technically means, me... Which technically means, us... Which technically-'_

"Alright! Alright! I get it already! Stop with this 'technically' stuff! It's hurtin' my brain!" Temari wailed annoyedly.

Then, coming to the sudden realization that she had passed her own house and was already at the end of the street, Temari instinctively scanned the area, looking around to ensure that there were no pineapple-shaped trees standing by, near the bushes. Then, she hurriedly scrambled back towards her house.

Pushing the door open, the sandy blonde stepped inside, only to be greeted by the splintering sound of the expensive plaster on her house's wall.

Only missing Temari's head by mere centimeters, a bright red Prada heel had been thrown and hammered against the quickly diminishing plaster wall, beside her.

Temari, glaring at the object, ripped it out of the wall, revealing a good two inch-diameter hole in the wall. Feeling a vein pop out of her forehead, she yelled, "KANKURO! WHAT THE _HELL_ DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH MY SHOES?! YOU CROSS-DRESSING PERVERT!"

"World War III is underway- WATCH OUT TEMARI!"

Her brother's voice echoed throughout the living room as objects were thrown back and forth from Gaara to Kankuro.

"What the hell did you do to Gaara now?!" She yelled.

"WHAT THE HELL MAKES YOU THINK THAT I DID SOMETHING?!" Kankuro retorted.

"BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS DO!" She rebutted back, ducking another one of her bed socks that were thrown in her direction. "AND WHY ARE YOU USING MY STUFF TO FIGHT WITH, OVER YOUR TRIVIAL SISSY FIGHTS?!"

"THEY ARE NOT TRIVIAL!" Kankuro shouted out, as he threw Temari's dirt-covered sock, and hit Gaara square in the face.

Temari watched as a dark aura surrounded her youngest brother as he peeled the 'possibly-two-week-old' sock, off his pale face.

"Bastard, Kankuro..."

"He is so dead," Temari snickered to herself.

"TEMARI!"

The sandy blonde swore, even the whole house had shaken slightly, from the sound of her father's yelling.

'Aahh! He found out that I didn't come home in the limo! And now look, 'cause of Gaara's and Kankuro's bitch fights, I'm gonna get it even more today! Aahh! Scram! He's coming down the stairs!- '

_'Wait!'_

'WHAT?! And why the heck do I have two different thought projections in my head?!'

_'That sounded like a song! _

_La-la-la-la-la- He's coming down the stairs- Oh, he's coming down the stairs- Oh! He's coming- He's coming- He's coming down the stairs-_

_Come on! Sing it with me!'_

'SHUT UP! AND GET OUT OF MY HEAD!'

_'-Oh! He came down the stairs! Oh, he came down the stairs! Oh! He's staring at you from the bottom- The bottom- Oh! The bottom of the stairs!'_

'GO AWAY! AND STOP SINGING THAT HE'S STARING AT ME FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE STAIRCASE BECAUSE-

-Wait!

_... What?_'

"Oh... Shit..."

* * *

A calloused hand wrapped itself around the metal door handle that lead to the house of the Naras'.

Shikamaru paused slightly in midst his actions, contemplating whether to carry out with it, or not. Inhaling deeply, he twisted the door knob and entered the quite poorly constructed cottage.

"I'm home."

Then, receiving no greeting in return, as he was so used to it, Shikamaru continued on his way, further into his house.

"WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN SHIKAMARU?!" A voice screamed from the side of the kitchen area.

The teenaged boy cringed at the volume of his mother's voice. He entered the kitchen, knowing full well that if he did not, his punishment would be a whole lot more severe. His father, whom Shikamaru bore quite a heavy similarity to, stood on the far end side of the room. Quickly assessing the situation he had just walked into, Shikamaru felt his heart drop to his stomach immediately.

His parents were at it again.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!" Shikamaru's mother, Yoshino, screeched once again.

While he felt quite intimidated that his mother was yelling once more, Shikamaru knew better than to run away.

"You know where I've been." The reply came out as no less than a mumble but the boy tried his best to keep his voice normal and not trembling, nonetheless.

Yoshino scoffed arrogantly. "Quit visiting that piece of garbage everyday just because he's in the hospital! That shithead brought it on himself!"

Shikamaru felt his heart freeze as his mother continued to throw insults at_ him_.

"That is no fucking excuse for you to be five fucking hours late home!" She glared at her son.

Shikaku, Shikamaru's father who had yet to speak, growled lowly. "Well, you can't blame him for coming home late. I bet everyone in this neighborhood makes sure to spend as little time at home as possible, just to avoid your irritatingly loud voice."

And whilst his father had 'stood up' for him, Shikamaru was less than grateful. He watched as his mother's icy cold glare fixed itself on Shikaku.

"Excuse me?!" Yoshino vociferated furiously. "Take that back, you bastard of a sloth!"

A thick blanket of tension spread itself over the three Naras. Shikamaru desperately tried to look for any signs of mirth in either of his parents' eyes, but to no avail. They were dead serious.

"I dare not. So stop fucking swearing all the time." Shikaku snapped.

"You-" Yoshino pointed a finger at her husband menacingly. "You have the freakin' nerve to lecture me about swearing when you just swore at me?! You fucking _ASSHOLE_!"

Shikamaru felt his blood run cold as he felt his brow furrow together in fear.

_'Please stop...'_

Shikaku turned his back to Yoshino as he started on his way out the kitchen.

"Stupid bitch," he muttered.

_SMASH!_

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he watched shards of a glass plate shatter onto the ground. For a moment the whole room was quiet and the only sounds to be heard were the 'clicks' and high-pitched kind of sounds that came from the glass making contact with the cold, unforgiving floor. The teenaged boy stared at his mother in disbelief. Shikaku stood still. Yoshino gripped hard onto two broken pieces of the plate, glaring daggers into her husband's back and she didn't look all too surprised at what she had done.

Finally, Shikaku spoke once again. "You complain about our lack of wealth and resources, and yet you go around shattering what little we have, because you're just so damn temperamental!" He hissed through gritted teeth.

"Dad... Mum... Stop fighting." Shikamaru finally found his voice, although the words seemed to only come out as a hoarse whisper.

"SHUT UP SHIKAMARU! GO AWAY!" Yoshino barked at him. "THIS IS BETWEEN HIM AND ME!"

"There is nothing between us anymore." Shikaku murmured as he took another step towards the door that lead out of the kitchen.

While these few words could have such little and insignificant meaning when separated, put together in a sentence like that, stabbed Shikamaru through the heart a thousand times.

_'...No...'_

"THAT'S IT!" Shikamaru's mother raged.

She ripped the pot that was now boiling at the stove, and threw all of its contents out into the rubbish bin. Shikamaru watched as half-made spaghetti bolognese came pouring down into the dark hollow trash can.

"What are you doing?"

"YOU CAN COOK THE FUCK FOR YOURSELF! OR STARVE, FOR ALL I CARE!" She screamed as she shoved Shikaku outside of the kitchen.

Shikaku looked more than enraged. For a split second, Shikamaru slammed his eyelids shut in fear that his father would retaliate.

When he opened his eyes, Yoshino was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen. And Shikaku Nara was continuing on his way out.

Shikamaru stared at the shards of glass glistening on the floor, as he felt his vision cloud with salty tears.

* * *

_~ 'Don't worry... I'm not all that hungry today... Mum... I'm not hungry at all, these days... Yours and dad's arguments are more than enough to fill me up for the whole week... With complete emptiness...'_

* * *

**A/N- Wow, Temari's house is a whole lot different to Shikamaru's!**

**Haha hope you guys liked it :D**

**I felt really bad for Shikamaru, while writing this **

**But writing about the sand siblings was fun ^_^**

**And Kankuro and Temari both probably ended up dead at the end of this chapter LOL-**

**Oh wait!**

**... Don't worry! False alarm, they're alive ;)**

**Anyway, how was it? :D**

**Questionsss:**

**- Who do you think the 'He', Shikamaru and Yoshino was talking about, is?**

**I'd love to hear your guesses. Some of you probably already know. ;)**

**Till next time,**

**~ InnocentBlossom**

**Xx**


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